Hydrophobia's Embrace
by Syrubis
Summary: Feij-Wuema, a young argonian female, has her life changed forever when she's taken by a group of imperials intended for a life time of servitude. Fate it seems has other plans and with a group of unusual sisters and a high-class argonian male the group set out to change history and reform Cyrodiil forever. Lucien x Feij.
1. Morndas: Blackmarsh: Unknown

|x| **Disclaimer **|x|

_I do not own any aspect of the Elder Scrolls series. Never have, never will.  
I do, however, own any character not mentioned in the original games.  
And this story, of course. It's mine and you can't have it. Not even if you ask nicely._

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**_I do not own oblivion, skyrim, morrowind etc._**

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**Beast Physiology and Tongue**

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_For this fanfiction I have decided on using Skyrim's representation of the species but kept their Oblivion accents as I thought they seemed more suiting. The only difference is the female structure, I decided against the females having any sort of breasts but all the other gender differences are in place. Wider hips, thinner structure and narrow shoulders, etc. There is, on occasion the mention of oblivion style argonians defined by their marks of womanhood. (In other words their facial colors)_

_For the purpose of this fanfiction argonians are cold-blooded and mate in a similar way to snakes/lizards. They are, in no way, related to either however. Nor are Khajiits related to felines. Think of them as a completely different creature that simply has common characteristics. I'll adjust them in any way I see fit to match the story and if it doesn't work naturally, I don't care._

_In scenes where an argonian swims please assume it is the way they swam in morrowind. Their limbs tucked to the side and their tail used to propel them through the water in serpentine like movements. When the hiss it is in the exact manner of a big lizard, don't know what it sounds like? Google. It's an enchanting sound._

_Khajiits hiss in a similar way to large felines and depending on their appearances their roars very from tiger to lion. I did prefer the voices in oblivion but feel free to imagine non-_ _Cyrodiilic_ _dwelling Khajiits using Skyrim accents. For this fanfic I have also modified heights slightly among the beast races so both argonian and Khajjit measure at a standard of seven feet. Argonian males are always taller than Khajiit males._

_Argonians don't have as many facial expressions as other races and were long considered to lack emotion because of it, as mention in a book in one of the games. This hasn't changed to remember and argonian's reactions or normally quite subtle, even without proper training. A trained argonian would make very little movement if desired._

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**Skyrim/Cyrodiil**

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_The story is set only a year or so after everything within the oblivion game has occurred so you need to keep in mind that the events in the Skyrim game don't take place for many, many years. As such the sanctuary's there are still very much alive. I have increased the size of Cyrodil considerably and filled it with a lot more life as the game was rather limited in what I imagined would have been a very large portion of land. I do try and keep up with lore and would appreciated corrections where I have gone wrong but it may differ slightly to fit in with the current story, mostly with Skyrim's history._

_The story is centred in particular around the thieves' guild and dark brotherhood. I didn't like the cleansing in game so there was someone spared. I'm sure you can all guess who. I also thought it a little boring to have the thieves only in the imperial city, likewise the sanctuary only in cheydinhall. So for this fic every city has both, some larger than others._

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**Other Mentions**

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_Certain scenes will contain graphic language, violence and rarely sex. There will be a warning at the top of the chapter, placed nice and obvious so you can skip if you desire though I can't promise you won't miss key elements of the story. For anything sexually graphic I'll divided the part from the story so you can skip without worry by bolding or underlining or something. I will not do these for sexual scenes that take an entire chapter or non-graphic sexual scenes._

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**Lastly**

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_If there is anything else to mention I will either add it to the top of the relevant chapter or update here. I hope you enjoy.  
Please review and be critical! I like to know what I can fix and would love to know your favourite and least favourite parts. -^w^-_

_For information on naming my beast races check the very bottom!_

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|x| **Fears-The-Water : **_Feij-Wuema _|x|**_Morndas : _**_11.00am_|x|******Blackmarsh: **_Unknown_ |x|

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Fears, as she was often called, had always been a very timid girl. She spent most of her younger years in the deepest reaches of blackmarsh studying the herbs and wildlife and it was only at the age of fourteen that she finally visited her first village. It was small and stunk of rotted plants and mould, like most out of the way towns in the vast marshlands, but it was also the home of her older brother Looks-Twice, the reason her and her parents had moved. Prior to her visit Fears had only ever known her life-givers or stray travellers that had gotten lost so right from the start she found herself unable to interact with anyone.

Her brother was a patient argonian and though she rarely spoke to him she enjoyed the silence in his company and he seemed to understand and reciprocate those feelings. When she found herself in a stressful situation he would gladly save her from it and never expected anything in return. It was almost ironic that the one time he asked she screwed up. Badly.

Grime clung to her tail, slicked her fins and filled her mouth despite her meek attempts at ridding herself of its unclean feel. It had been just over an hour now since the cruel imperials had grabbed her, beaten her and piled her in with the rest of the females. All she had been doing was picking mushrooms when the group had jumped her and now she had very little idea of where she was and couldn't even call for help for fear she would be hurt more. Dry tears still itched her face, made more noticeable when she whimpered with an occasional burst of pain and mud caked her body making her twitch in discomfort. The soldiers spoke in standard cirrodillic and though Fears had been taught when she was younger it was obvious some of the other argonians had little idea of what was going on.

Hits-Hard, a small blue-scale had attempted to soothe Fears' nerves but it seemed a futile attempt. Instead she had settled for cupping the young argonian's hand in her own from time to time, smiling widely with kind eyes that made Fears calm considerably, despite the weight of her situation. All up they had taken eight females from various tribes, some wore bright colored war-paint and others were distinguished by different horns or fins decorated in different ways. All of them were silent yet the looks they exchanged spoke louder than any word and all of them knew, though they tried to deny it, that they were bound for the Imperial city and a lifetime slavery.

Every time the cart hit ditch in the unstable muddy track the group would shudder, whimper or yelp in the sudden onset of agony. Sore and bruised skin being grabbed by shaking hands and this only resulted in another firm clubbing to the thigh or upper arm. Fears watched sadly as the youngest sobbed quietly into a bloodied hand, the left side of her face badly grazed. Fears could feel the bile pooling in her mouth, she was scared, hurt and angry for what these beasts had done to her and her sisters. She couldn't even utter a comforting word for fear of being beaten again.

It seemed quite Ironic, years she avoided groups yet now this group was the only thing to comfort her, if anything she wanted there to be more of them. The cart slid slightly before bucking back onto course but not before White-Scale slipped from her seat and tumbled into the thick sludge of the marsh. Before anyone had even registered the occurrence the imperials were on her like a bad rash. The group gasped as the first sickening crunch echoed louder than any noise they had ever heard. The second blow forced Tide-Walker's heart to her throat as she attempted to lunge at the guards, only being restrained by Hits-Hard.

Blow after blow sent thick red liquid rolling into the stinking mud and flicked it up as each guard lifted their arm for the next blow. At first White-Scale screamed, twisting and clawing from beneath the mass of armoured soft-skins but soon she slowed, her movement more jagged, her voice carried into a gurgle.

"Stop! Enough! She didn't do anything!" Tide-Walker cried, wrestling with her sister in an attempt to help. A guard came from the side, pulled his weight onto the cart and with one swift blow to her head brought Tide-Walker down. Falling unconscious against Fears' legs and she almost lost her previous meal, tears again gushing down her face.

"Let that be a lesson to you" the guard growled down to the others who, by now, where sitting with their hands in their laps and their heads low.

As the cart was slowly pulled back into motion Fears looked up briefly, White-Scale's helpless gaze greeted her, grey eyes forever un-moving in a body that now seemed as though it were crushed under the weight of a million stones. She turned away quickly and began tending the wound on Tide-Walkers head, doing what she could to slow the bleeding with nothing but her dirty hands.

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Eventually, with the help of her sisters, the bleeding slowed and Tide woke. It took some time before she could sit and when she managed to curl up at Fears' side she had to prop herself up on her shoulder. She asked with her wide golden eyes for the news of her sister and when all she got in return was averted gazes her whole body clenched and she was forced to look away.

* * *

By nightfall the group had encountered repeated beatings, some because the cried, others because they looked up from their laps but the worst ones where for no reason at all other than to delight the slave masters. Every minute felt like an eternity and eternity felt longer when she was forced to hold another sister and hope she didn't bleed to death in her lap. Thinks-Fast was the youngest argonian, her scales a soft lime grin color and still free of the traces of womanhood. She had been unconscious for too long and Fears knew she had lost a lot of blood already. She stroked her sisters back gently, more to soother her own mind than anything else, though the more she comforted herself the more she worried that the young argonian would not wake.

Hits-Hard, who was watching her intently, had been beaten several times now in poor attempts to protect the others. Everyone had cried until their tears ran dry, now the only one still sobbing was a poor yellow-green Argonian closest to the edge. No one knew her name but could tell how scared she was of falling off the cart and ending up with the same punishment White-Scales had received. Of the entire group, however, Silk-Tongue was injured the worst. Laying under the poorly constructed seat her breathing was harsh and shallow. Her leg had been broken, her arm sliced clean open from shoulder to elbow (Hastily wrapped by a guard so she would bleed to death) and her right eye was smashed in. Fears tried desperately to avoid the sound of her sisters suffering, she tried to focus on the creak of the cart, the buzz of swamp flies, the thick squelching sound of imperial boots in mud. Nothing worked. It was sickening. Soft-skins were monsters yet incredibly weak, if they didn't have weapons and armour they would have died long ago. The group could hear the guards complaining incessantly about the plant life. No one dared look at them, for fear they would earn another broken bone but they all silently rebelled, plotting ways to take their revenge.

Eventually the cart drew to a slow halt and everyone tensed. It was only now that Fears dared look at anything other than her own hand, with half closed lids she glanced up into the frightened faces of those who shared her fate, and then, into the face of an old Imperial. Her eyes snapped down instantly but not before he had noticed. She could practically feel his grin and it scared her.

"Set up camp boys, I'm tired." He said with a chuckle that made her skin burn with hatred and then feel ice cold as his voice was directed at her.

"Oi, you there, yellow scale." She couldn't move and her heart had tried to leap from her throat. She could hear her breathing increase in speed and despite her attempts she couldn't move her tongue. "Your name, now."

She felt tides nudge her but she couldn't speak, she was incapable of anything.

"Drag her off

_What?_

"We'll teach her not to ignore her masters"

Laughter that chilled her to the bone snapped her out of her fearful trance and she instinctively slid her sister from her lap and Hits-Hard wordlessly took over. She was expecting another beating and had braced herself for it, no one even moved, no one dared look up but when rough hands grabbed her throat and pulled her forcefully from the cart several of her sisters stood and where hit in response. Her back hit the cart wheel with a frightful noise and the shock of the impact came long before she felt any pain. Without time to turn her body the back of her head slammed into the mud next but it also met sharp rocks and sticks buried beneath the surface. The warmth that she could feel she couldn't decide if it was blood or much, it just felt like thick sweat.

Shielding her face with her arms her body let out a shrill cry against her will but no blow followed like she had expected, instead there was more laughing and she slowly peeked out from behind her scaled limbs. A bad idea, she was grabbed roughly again, this time by the ankle, and dragged a small way from the cart. She could feel things biting and cutting into her flesh and she dreaded what bugs and objects lay hidden and the thick sludge of the marsh.

"Please don't!" she begged but it was lost in the sickening echo of mocking Imperial laughter. It seemed one of her sisters knew what was about to happen long before Fears did. She heard the creak of old wood and the loud hiss. Not this hiss one might use in polite company but the solid, drawn out breath of a very angry argonian.

"Don't touch her you dogs! Don't-" The sound of breaking bones reached Fears' ears while the rest of the world stood silent. She wouldn't allow her sisters to suffer on her behalf. Even with the Imperials wrestling with her clothes and pushing her arms down hard Fears' managed to yell out one last time before someone shoved something in her mouth and pushed down on her throat.

"Don't do anything! Don't sisters!"

There was still a great ruckus from the cart, hissing and scuffle but several more blows silenced them quickly. The next few moment where the longest Fears had ever experienced yet it happened so quickly she didn't even have time to brace herself. The full weight of an armoured soldier on her throat made her gag and writhe in the thick stinking muck. More weight on her legs and arms made them burn, the more she struggled the more painful it became. Sweaty hands grabbed at her thighs. Part of her being told her to stop fighting, to stop everything while another, more diminant part of her, refused. Never in her life had she thought she was so inferior. It was like the world had slowed, allowing her to feel every little tension in her bruised muscles. Every scrape and every nail dug into the tender point of her skin. The pain she was in made her stomach lurch as she forced all her energy into not vomiting. Somehow she was able to cry again, her dry red eyes now pooling with salty liquid.

Eventually she couldn't fight anymore. Three guards had wrestled her legs wide and pinned them in place, she couldn't twist her body, couldn't move her arms. She could hardly breathe as she coughed helplessly into the material in her mouth. She had lost all fear now and was simply furious and sick and when first blow struck her she screamed, louder than she had ever screamed before. The second felt like someone had shoved an axe into her gut, the liquid she felt between her legs was definitely blood and it flowed. The continued moments that followed made her entire being burn in pain so intense she could no longer place and area to the torture. She felt the vomit rise up her throat and all the guards did in response was turn her head so she didn't choke on her own filthy reaction.

* * *

When she woke up she found herself in the back of the cart again, a burning white light scraping at the inside of her eyelids. When a shadow moved over her face she finally drew the energy to peer up through slitted lids and hiss softly at whatever was above her. The cool scaled hand of her sister was a blessing, her muscles relaxed and her eyes fluttered shut again. She couldn't tell how long she had been unconscious but she guessed it was roughly midday. Her gut hurt like a painful bruise on the inside and when she tensed her muscles she could feel something tear and she hissed again in pain.

"Shut her up" came a deep voice from close by, she recognised it vaguely from the night before. She wasn't offended when she felt her sisters hand across her mouth, clamping her jaws together. She actually smiled beneath them to show she understood.

"We will have to avoid leyawin, those do-gooders will be a bigger pain than the slaves are worth."

"Just bribe the count, it's not like he would care, as long as he gets his coin."

"Again, more than these slaves are worth"

The other guard grunted and fell silent for a few minutes before another chimed up.

"What about that guy we saw on the way down?"

"You would really trust someone who crawls out from a trap door in the middle of nowhere covered in blood?"

"Well… He said he might be interested in some children…"

"That doesn't sound wrong to you? He was probably mad, or a vampire. It would be easier-"

"What if just I go check? If I don't come back then you can leave and presume I'm dead. I mean, did you see his coin purse? It was huge! He could be a wealthy eccentric or explorer, they pay top dollar. Especially for a group of argonian whores."

The guards where silent for a moment before they all grunted in agreement. Fears curled her clawed fingers into a fist before pushing herself upright. Her head spun and she had to force her eyes closed merely seconds after opening. She could feel many hands attempting to soothe her and her stomach screamed in agony. She didn't care. She opened her eyes and blinked away the brightness, shielding her face with her arm. The thick air of the marsh was gone and her lungs felt strange breathing in the crisp alien air. There was no scent of decay and the wagon travelled level on a dusty road. Though the land was still muddy in places and vines hung from swamp trees there was a vast decrease in insect activity and for the first time in her life she wasn't blinking away flies.

The cart slowed and there was a chink of metal as one of the horses was unhooked. It would be near impossible for just one to pull the group along so gradually the imperials began to settle down on rocks or the earth, drinking from their water skins. Her sisters began to lick their lips and her own dry mouth itched with idea of a cool drink of water. Fears expected the jerks to mock them but they seemed to exhausted, which was probably a good thing. It gave the group a chance to look up from their laps without being hit.

The moment of relative calm didn't last long, however, and all too soon they were being dragged from the cart and one by one were cuffed and chained together in one long line by both the ankles and their wrists. They couldn't run like this, if the tried and one fell they were all doomed. Not that they would have. It was just a calming idea to pretend you had a chance if you fled.

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By sunset the guard arrived back, his steed panting with exhaustion and his brow damp with sweat.

"Ten gold each, sir." He said with a grin, dismounting his steed and soothing it with a few brushes of his hand against its side. The larger soldier of the group clapped his had roughly against his friends shoulder and laughed in a way that made Fears' skin crawl. She despised these men with every inch of her violated being. What right do they have trading the lives of others? What sick, twisted race would allow it? Dam those soft-skins! She was so overwhelmed with her sickening hatred she missed part of the conversation and when she next tuned in they were already discussing where the trade would take place.

Tide gripped her sisters arm tightly and gave her a long fearful look. Fears wanted to calm her, to tell her everything was going to be ok but she couldn't and she wanted Tide to tell the same to her. She wanted to be weak and she wanted to be strong. For her sisters. She wanted those _imperial dogs_ to _suffer_ as they had made them suffer. She was going to get her revenge on these monsters on way or another. Those- those- _things _here going to wish they had never laid a hand on her.

"Oi, savages, on the cart. The breaks over, cattle."

How _dare_ they.

Something was shoved hard into her back, she hissed under her breath and her sisters flinched with her pain. If she was a stronger woman she would have stopped where she was but instead she moved faster, climbed into the wagon and bowed her head like a broken animal. _Cattle. _Those bastards. She wanted to go home and she wanted to see her mother and father. She was scared and hurt and her stomach burned with each breath. They had dirtied every single part of her being and she could do _nothing. _She couldn't even stop the tears that built in her eyes, threatening to spill out over her dirty cheeks.

The quite argonian girl who was still nameless among them now sat beside Hits, curled into her side like a hatchling. Fears didn't want to look at her, she didn't want something to happen that was beyond their control but as the guards talked mindlessly among themselves Fears finally leaned close, her voice less than a whisper and her face so still it looked like she had hardly breathed. She spoke in Hist, the native tongue of blackmarsh.

"Your name, egg-sister."

The young argonian shuddered and glanced around nervously. Nevertheless she lowered her head and replied. "Ruska" (which meant Rushes in Cyrodiilic.)

Fears nodded and leaned away. _Ruska._

* * *

When the cart drew to a halt yet again Fears didn't even bother to look where they were. The air was cold, the sky navy and her stomach grumbled with hunger. She didn't even care anymore, it all seemed so surreal. The blood on her body, the sounds of hooves in the mind. Her breath. None of it felt real. So in a way she shouldn't really have been surprised when the voice echoed through the silence like water over smooth stones.

"It's not every day you see imperial soldiers trading in blood money, not that I mind."

"We just want the gold so we can be on our way, sir."

"Of course, of course, please excuse my manners." He said with a sinister chuckle and though Fears didn't look up the familiar chink of coin greeted her ears as the monsters made their exchange. It wasn't long after that the chains between them shifted and one by one the abused females climbed out doing their best to stay standing despite their injuries. Sitting in the cart was painful but getting in and out felt like running around a city several times. Not that Fears had seen a city before, but she could guess they would be big.

The group was lead around several large trees and further into a scarce forest. The smell of marsh was thicker here but it was a cool, crisp smell. Familiar yet so foreign to their sensitive noses. Fears only dared glance up once to see her sisters all staring at their feet. The guards where following either side while in the lead a tall figure dressed in a pitch black robe lead the way, his hood drawn tight around his face. His voice had sounded similar to the imperials though it was smoother and more peaceful, in a way.

They were lead to a trap door not far from a large expanse of water, it was propped open and a rank smell of bad flesh seeped into the air around it. The slavers didn't seem to notice but it definitely began to itch Fears' nose. Her sisters, wounded as they were, even began to fidget uncomfortably. They were forced down the stairs, a difficult feat when you can't use your hands or feet. A few made it down while the rest fell on broken limbs, including Fears who landed on her bruised stomach.

"From the sound of it these women were not treated particularly well these last few days, am I correct?" the hooded figure hummed from above, his silky and sinister voice carried by the breeze.

"They're animals so we treated them as such."

"Oh, I was under the impression people didn't rape animals, unless they were sick in the head."

"Fuck you."

"Fuck me indeed" he chuckled. "From here on out any khjiit or argonian slaves you _acquire_ I will purchase." This was not a question, it was a demand and within seconds he had dropped through the trap door and pulled it shut, locking out the low cursing from the imperial _scum_ above. When he turned on the group of marsh sisters his eyes where narrowed and almost invisible beneath his hood. Behind him sat a table covered by a dirty brown sheet and with a flick of his wrist it fluttered to the ground to expose a large assortment of weapons, rusted but definitely dangerous.

"Evening ladies" he said, his voice dripping with malice. In return all he received was a chorus of hissing and a few select phrases from Hits-Hard.

"Wonderful" the man drawled. "Just what I needed."

The last thing Fears expected was for the bastard to smile, even less for that smile to seem... Kind? A vicious kind, though it was definitely meant to intimidate, nevertheless she guessed there was some mark of sincere kindness in it.

Reaching into his robe he pulled out a dirty leather bag, the sound of glass bottles chattering inside as he dropped it on the table. He didn't turn his back to the group as he reached in and pulled out a small jug of metallic pink liquid and flicked the cork out with his thumb. Some of Fears' sisters flinched while others let out another low hiss. He didn't seem to care as he bravely stepped up to Fear and her heart clung to the inside of her throat.

"Don't fear me, darling." He whispered, handing the jug over. At first Fears tried to avoid looking at anything, her eyes at her feet and her tail tucked close to her legs but a gentle hand was placed under her chin to tilt her head up. She shied away from the touch but he was firm and gradually lifted the jug to her lips. She wasn't as scared as she was before, maybe because they outnumbered him. Maybe because she had been scared for too long and her body was just dead, limp and unwilling. The liquid flowed down her throat smoothly and though it tasted and felt almost like drinking air the liquid had a strong fruity scent and when it hit her stomach she began to feel warm. Little tendrils of heat curling into every part of her body and within moments her pain seemed to vanish, her heavy limbs felt like feathers and her exhausted body felt like it had woken up from a nice long and comfortable rest.

When the glass was taken from her lips Fears wasn't even sure what was going on, she felt so _light_. Things were happening quickly around her, her sisters taking the liquid into their belly's by force or willingly. She could hear the snap and creak of bones as they reset or watched almost dreamily as the man re-broke them and healed them by hand, rubbing the liquid into their skin. He healed them like a mother would a child's scraped knee, he was gentle but forceful and when the liquid ran dry everyone seemed better. Several of her sisters still bore hideous scars and Silk-Tongue would forever be blind in one eye, the skin and scales around it a soft pink.

"So I'm going on a whim to say you all hate those men?" he asked coyly, placing the jug back in his bag before glancing around at his audience. "That's not surprising-"

"When you next lay your head to rest a will _slit_ you from _ear_ to _ear_, soft-skin." Hits-Hard said slowly, her voice more terrifying then Fears had heard yet. Fears wasn't sure why but she felt it wasn't needed. This man had healed them, tended their wounds… Maybe she was just… It had been too much.

"Oh will you now?" he grinned, his pearl white teeth glittering from beneath his coal-black hood. "Let's get you started then, hmm?" he mocked before walking towards the table and dropping a key. They group stiffened and he chuckled.

"I'll just leave this key here next to all these weapons and if a slave happened to _escape_ and just maybe had the energy to _slaughter _those lovely slavers, well I suppose it wouldn't be my fault. I am just one man, I can't help it if a group of escaped slaves attacked me to be free..." he rambled in a hushed tone and without looking behind him left the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. The trap door, however, shivered in the breeze, the latch chattering as it blew in the wind.

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**How I name my characters! Taken from the elder scrolls wiki 3**

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_Khajiit names, particularly among males, often have a prefix before them, usually though not always separated by an apostrophe. In general, the rest of the name following the prefix should be capitalized, though the games are not consistent on this point. Some names also have a hyphenated suffix (e.g.: '-Dar') indicating two titles which, according to Jobasha in Morrowind, is considered foolish. The meanings of the prefixes are as follows:[OOG 1]_

_Dar = Thief, clever_

_Do = Warrior_

_Dro = Grandfather/Grandmother_

_J/Ja/Ji = Bachelor, Young Adult_

_Jo = Wizard, Scholar_

_M/Ma = Child, Apprentice, also used to imply virginity_

_Qa = Unknown_

_Ra = Shows Status_

_Ri = Status, often tribal leader_

_S = Adult_

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_There are three types of Argonian names._

_1-word names_

_Hyphenated Argonian names (sometimes the hyphen(s) are omitted)_

_Tamrielic/Cyrodilic names, with or without hyphens_

_Argonians often refer to their non-Cyrodilic names as their "Black Marsh name."_

_In some cases, the Cyrodilic names are just translations of their Argonian hyphenated names. There are only two cases where we know both the Argonian and Cyrodilic names of a single individual, "Haj-Ei" ("Hides-His-Eyes") found in Suran, and "Gah Julan" ("Great Benefit") outside of Dren Plantation, both in Morrowind. In other cases, the Argonians were evidently given Cyrodilic names without any consideration for their Argonian names. The Cyrodilic name may be used preferentially when the person's Argonian name cannot be pronounced by non-Argonians._


	2. Tirdas: Cyrodiil: Southern Blackwood

|x| **Disclaimer **|x|

_I do not own any aspect of the Elder Scrolls series. Never have, never will.  
I do, however, own any character not mentioned in the original games.  
And this story, of course. It's mine and you can't have it. Not even if you ask nicely._

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|x| **Chapter Notes **|x|

**_GENERAL:_**_ I haven't edited this chapter at all so I'm sure it will have plenty of spelling/grammatical errors. Sorry in advance but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Also if you would like your character included in the fic please feel free to ask! I'll do my best to include anyone who asks ^-^  
_  
_Now I'm aware a victim of such a torturous situation would not be as calm and playful as she is but you need to keep in mind that the potion she was given has affected her in a lot of ways, you can look forward to those boring self-loathing chapters a little later._

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|x| **Fears-The-Water : **_Feij-Wuema _|x| **Tirdas :**_ 5.00am _|x|** Cyrodiil :**_ Southern Blackwood _|x|

* * *

In all honesty Fears knew she wasn't capable of taking the life of another, even those who had violated her. She detested them in a way that made her stomach churn with rage but she couldn't bring herself to snuff out their metaphorical lights. She was, however, perfectly capable of watching her sisters do so for her and was even willing to hold the head of one of the guards while Tide-Walker wiped her hands free of his blood. When the group had finished in their rather sickening blood bath Fears visited each body, taking their coin before spilling it in a small pile before her while the dirtied group settled down to count their riches.

Now perhaps she should have been more troubled then she was but her body felt as if it was ok. As though what had happened to her was really no big deal, perhaps it was the potion or maybe even the revenge but she knew she should have been more unsettled than she was. She was sure it was the potion but she wasn't going to complain, not yet.

"That's more gold than I've seen in my entire life!" Hits-Hard laughed maliciously, the disdain still present in her deep argonian accent. She was from a tribe closer to the centre of Blackmarsh and her words at times where a little different to the language used by tribes further out.

"Should we be surprised? Dammed soft-skins." Tides grumbled, bitting into one of the coins to test its worth before flicking it back into the pile.

"So… What do we do now?" Rushes asked, her meekness echoing in the slight stutter and uncertainty of her voice.

"Now we go home." Silk-Tongue almost hissed

"I… I was leaving home when they caught me." Rushes replied, saddened and Silk replied with an apologetic glance.

"I don't want to go back either." Fears admitted, it was odd because she loved her home and her family but now that she was already _gone_, that she was already surrounded by _freedom_, she didn't want to go back to the people who knew her. I mean, they were in Cyrodiil for hists sake!

"I just want to see my mate" Thinks-Fast admitted with a shudder to witch Hits wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders.

"What about that man who set us free? Who was he?" Tides asked to the group.

"You don't suppose he'll come find us do you?" Rushes replied with a wince.

"He looked like the kind who would, probably dispose of us in our sleep now that we've done his dirty work." Silk said, rather matter-of-factly. To which Hits answered with a firm fist to the other argonian's arm. Fears smirked.

"I'll bet there's a lot of coin to be had in Cyrodiil." Hits said with a grin. "Especially for a group of argonian's willing to spill a little soft-skin blood!"

"Hits-Hard!" Rushes gasped, looking rather taken aback.

"I'm fine with some more bloodshed!" Tides stated with a light smirk. Rushes just turned to her with an astounded expression.

"I think I'd rather steal from them then watch them fret from a distance." Silk giggled. "Or maybe blackmail them with information on their horrid deeds." Rushes grinned in agreement.

"Then you could prove the meaning of your name, no?" Hits laughed.

Fears picked up a coin and twisted it around in her fingers. "Well I'm going to Leyawin."

The group looked at her for a moments before Tides nodded. "And I shall join you sister."

"Same" Hits grinned. "If you would have me sisters?"

"Of course" Tides smiled back.

Thinks fast looked away sadly and gave her a kind smile. "Don't worry, we understand."

"You won't be going alone; I'll be with you all the way." Silk said gently. To which Runs-Slow placed a gentle hand on Silk's shoulder in silent agreement.

"So I guess we part ways soon?" Rushes asked more to herself than the group.

"I guess so" Hits replied with a nod.

"This is something I'll never forget." Silk said gingerly. "You, my sisters, I will never forget."

The murmur of agreement that greeted their ears was heart-warming.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Rushes asked, turning to Silk.

"Anything."

"White-Scales, she… she mentioned a family in Bac'r…"

"I will tell them of her… Of her fate…" she said with a nod.

With that said the group fell into silence for a short time, the memory of their lost sister still vivid in their mines yet they were also content with the fact her death was avenged. Slowly and excruciatingly.

"So… Who gets the cart?" Fears asked, turning to the horses still tied to a tree.

"Your group. The beasts are practically useless in the marsh, if will be faster and safer to walk." Silk said "Cyrodiil frowns on our kind at the best of times, owning a steed suggests some wealth other than another black-marsh immigrant. I also suggest taking the gold, it looks to be enough to settle down with, if that's what you intend."

"I'm not familiar with their currency either" Hits mused, turning to Tides who in turn agreed and turned to Fears.

"I know the basics, my brother taught me." She admitted. Though the gold had no real wealth in black-marsh her brother had come to Cyrodiil on several occasions, often bringing back left-over currency.

"That's a relief" Rushes sighed with a playful giggle, slumping slightly in exaggeration. Fears noticed how much more open she was now that danger wasn't looming over their heads, she rather fancied this Rushes, it was nice and she proved good company. Tides on the other hand, though obviously nice, was a bit too aloof for her likings. "Oh, wait! Ah, does anyone here actually speak fluent Cyrodiilic?" Fears blinked a few times… She could ask where the toilets were, and if the kind Khjiit wanted the rest of his potato… For the most part she just listened and grasped what she could from a conversation, filling in the blanks herself.

"_Please sir, remove your hand from my backside before I slice it off." _Tides said with a smirk, the humour completely lost to the group because she might as well have spoken it in grunts. Fears was the only one to giggle slightly and Tide gave her a knowing grin.

"I ah… Guess that solves that issue." Hits laughed followed by everyone else.

"So I guess we finish looting the corpses, see who needs what then head out?" Hits then asked, turning to the closest body. "I rather fancy that sword of his there…" she continued with a wink.

"Sounds like a plan." Rushes agreed.

* * *

With the bodies looted and the cart filled the group began sorting the remainder of their new possessions, deciding which group would need what. They settled on giving three of the five tents to the group bound for black-marsh, along with some of the weaker weapons, for protection. Fears kept the armour with intent on selling it though Tide suggested it be safer _law wise_ to leave them behind. After a short discussion they decided to hide the lot among the other junk that included a great deal of men's clothes, pots and bowls, a barrel of food rations and some bedding. They were sure there'd be some buyers among the less _trustworthy_ occupants of Cyrodiil.

Dawn was creeping its way over the imperial camp, or the remains of it at least, and the sisters began bidding each-other farewell, embraces all around followed by caring words. Fears was embraced particularly long by Silk-Tongue, who seemed the saddest for the groups to part ways. As Rushes finally climbed into the back of the cart with her sisters Hits flicked the reins of the milk-white beasts and the group moved slowly forward onto a dusty and rarely used track.

The travelled in silence for some time, Rushes occasionally commenting on the beauty of the surrounding landscape, though not much different than Blackmarsh there were still distinct abnormalities, like flowers and strange trees, less mushrooms and fungus.

"Hey, why don't we name the horses?" Rushes asked eagerly, Tide rolled her eyes but looked amused at the idea regardless. "See that one? I think he should be Sturdy-Walker." She giggled.

Hits laughed. "What about his lady?"

"Eats-Pebbles." Tides smirked.

"That's mean! How about Likes-Sun?"

"How do you know? Maybe she should be Hates-Sun." Tides replied

"How about Doesn't-Care-About-Sun-But-Loves-Pie?" Fears suggested. To which the group laughed.

"We can call her Loves-Pie for short!" Rushes giggled.

"Then it's settled, Sturdy-Walker and Loves-Pie." Hits said with a grin.

The group continued to travel for some time longer, spurred on by the potion still bubbling in their veins, obviously negating the heavy weariness that should have consumed them long before now. Fears shifted in her seat to pull some stale bread from their rations but decided against it at the sight of her filthy hands, still covered in the blood of those filthy soft-skins.

"Do you suppose we should bathe before we reach Leyawin?" she asked, showing her hands to Ruska who made a rather amusing 'ick' face in reply.

"Yeah… Is there any_ clean_ water between here and Leyawin?" Tide questioned.

"Yeah, I think Leyawin's right by a river." Fears nodded, remembering some of the stories her brother had told her.

"Won't the notice the group of argonian's slipping in?" Rushes replied, tilting her head.

"Probably not, lots of trees around here. I think…" Tides answered.

"I've never bathed in a river before…" Rushes mused. "I've never really swum in anything that deep either."

"I heard the water is like crystal." Hits sighed.

"And filled with killer fish!" Tides added and the group rolled their eyes and laughed.

"Joking aside" She continued. "What are we going to do once we reach Leyawin?"

"I… Hadn't really thought of it… Do we… Do we have to go our separate ways?" Rushes asked, almost pleading.

"It's not like I have anywhere to be" Hits joked.

"I was thinking we could just travel. I'd love to see the imperial city." Fears confessed.

"That would be awesome!" Rushes giggled.

"The imperial city?" Hits glanced over her shoulder to stare intently at fears.

"Ah, the great soft-skin city" Tide spat icily. "Oh how I would _love_ to visit it."

"Hey, we could kick a soldier in the cherries, claim we didn't understand and thought he was making rude comments towards our wonderful body's." Hits grinned and Tide lit up at the idea.

"Couldn't we just kick him and run?" Rushes giggled and everyone gave her an odd look. "Oh, I mean. That's utterly terrible Hits-Hard!"

"Yeah, you should be ashamed!" Fears laughed along.

The group continued along the track for some time, the dirt fading into aged pebble roads troubled with overgrowth and ditches filled with water. In time Fears and Tide had climbed from the back of the cart to wander restlessly beside it, only exchanging a few words every now and then. The sun seemed different here, the heat not musky like the swamp but dry and itchy, the air crisp and drying to the throat. They had already spotted a small village on the way but they were forced to give it a wide berth, with their scales still stained with imperial blood they were in no hurry to be bombarded by question's from restless soft-skins but with the sun at its midpoint the group where sore and thirsty and were definitely regretting bypassing a chance for some clean water.

"Next puddle we come across I'm sticking my tongue in there, clean or not." Hits joked restlessly.

"I'm inclined to join you." Tide chuckled in reply. "Might pay to try clean ourselves up a bit, too. Mud is better than blood any day."

Fear nodded more to herself than the group, subconsciously running her fingers across her arm, unsettling clumps of dried filth. The potion had begun to lose its feathery effect and her abused body was starting to feel the dull aches that hadn't been completely healed. That and the memorys of what had happened suddenly began to trouble her, like an illness slowly spreading. Rushes seemed to have noticed her sisters lagging because she slid off the cart and gestured for Fears to have her turn. She didn't complain as she jumped on and flopped rather oddly positioned over the seat, her tail hanging over the edge of the cart and her limbs in various directions.

"That doesn't look very comfortable" Hits laughed, glancing over her shoulder from her seat up front, the reins still firm in her hand as she lead the horses at a steady pace.

"Mmph" Fears responded, her cheek squished against the cool wood. "How much further do you think Leyawin is?"

"No clue, I can't even see the river yet. Did you find a map on the soft-skin dogs?"

"I found a few carry bags but there wasn't much inside them."

"Oh wait! I found some notes in the dirty bag over there!" Rushes said pointing towards the pile of small and dirty bags.

"They're all dirty, Rushes" Fears laughed and Rushes giggled before jumping up on the cart to find it herself. After rummaging through a few of them she finally found the one she was looking for and crawled into the front seat with Hits.

"Anyone here know how to read these?" She asked, brandishing the handful of papers above her head and looking around.

"I might be able to, at least some of it." Tide answered, speeding up slightly to swipe them from her hand.

"There's no map here, just looks like a bunch of notes… Something about… Their _shifts_?"

"What's a _Shift_?" Rushes asked.

"Hang on, give me a minute. I think it's some kind of schedule. Who works and when."

"Oh well that's boring."

"Yeah" Tides agreed. "Oh, wait a second. I think this word is a translation for your name, Hits."

"Huh" She asked, peering over Rushes shoulder.

"Yeah, see, and it's got your Blackmarsh name underneath. They didn't spell it right. Oh and they didn't translate my name right either. It says here my names _Walk-In-Tides_"

"_Walk-In-Tides_? What does that mean?" Rushes asked, rather confused at the concept of Cyrodiilic

"It means walk-in-tides, right?" Fears answered, not quite sure if she had gotten it right but Tide simply nodded and continued look through the letters.

"Oh. Idiots, that's entirely different. What's with the rest of the writing underneath then?" Rushes hummed, leaning over the edge of the cart to try and get a better look.

"Hmm? Oh… I think it's information on us. Hang on, I'll try and translate it." Tide began flipping through some of the pages, her expression growing stern with concentration. After some time Fears glanced over the edge of the cart to see what was wrong.

"If you like I could help you translate? I can't read but I'm pretty decent in Cyrodiilic, sort of."

Tide nodded and crawled up onto the back of the cart, waiting for Fears to sit up properly before she settled herself down beside her.

"I know this bit here says; _Female blue scale, young and restless, will be difficult to completely dominate."_

Fears listened intently, replaying the message several times in her head. "Blue scale female, young and wilted. Difficult will be dominating."

"I think that means energetic." Tide corrected, pointing to _restless_. "But I don't think this page really matters, this one here-" she continued, pulling a different page to the top. "Says something about a '_slave market'_ I think they meant to take us there."

"_Slave_ as in slave?" Fears asked.

"Yup, that's it."

"Does it say where it is?"

Tide was silent for a few more moments. "I can't tell, I don't understand a lot of the words."

"Don't worry about it" Hits murmured from the front seat before suddenly hissing in excitement. "Look! Water! That must be the river!"


End file.
